The dental community’s interest in early loading of endosseous implants provides the stimulation to test the ability of modified implant designs as well as surgical techniques to enhance the establishment and maintenance of implant stability. This preclinical canine study examined this potential by implementing several implant design and surgical technique modifications to an existing tapered implant system. The design and site preparation changes were intended to induce different compression states on the native bone, hypothetically affecting the primary stability and the rate and extent of osseointegration. The outcomes of the modifications were evaluated using resonance frequency analysis, radiographic analysis, light microscopy, and histomorphometric measurements. Three compression scenarios were tested, with each demonstrating excellent clinical, radiographic, and histologic results throughout the evaluation period. However, the scenario intended to induce a moderate degree of compression provided the best overall results, supporting its use in early loading protocols. (Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent 2012;32:637–645.)

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